Method of forming a rim for containers



y 1936- c. M. M CHESNEY ET AL 2,047,213

METHOD OF FORMING A RIM FOR CONTAINERS Filed June 13, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet l y 1936- c. M. M CHESNEY ET AL 2,047,213

METHOD OF FORMING A RIM FOR CONTAINERS Filed June 13, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 14, 1936. Q M MaccHEsNEY ET AL 2,047,213

METHOD OF FORMING A RIM FOR CONTAINERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 WEB. Wilson Filed June 15, 1934 July 14, 1936- c. M, M CHESNEY ET AL METHOD OF FORMING A RIM FOR CONTAINERS Filed June 13, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 C/ZQSZQPMMQG Elms 7Z6} QZLWLB. M9070 Patented July 14, 1936 UNITED STATES METHOD OF FORMING A RIM: FOR

CONTAINERS Chester M. MaoChesney, Chicago, and Allen B. Wilson, Evanston, Ill., assignors to Acme Steel Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Application June 13, 1934, Serial No. 130,412

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in containers and, more particularly, to an improved method of forming a metallic rim adapted for reenforcing a container such as the rim and container described and claimed in the co-pending application of Chester M. MacChesney Serial No. 730,413, filed June 13, 1934. The inventionis adapted to produce a rim intended primarily for application to containers of polygonal cross-section, such as containers constructed principally of wood and comprising a plurality of outer wall sections arranged usually in octagonal form and bound together to form a. container adapted for use as a substitute for barrels and the like for shipment. The wall sections of such containers are ordinarily reenforced and bound together by surrounding binding wires which have their ends twisted or otherwise secured together and which are attached to the separate wall sections by staples or other fastening means. It is desirable, in such a container to reenforce the structure at one or both ends by means of a surrounding rim which preferably overlaps the adjacent head or end wall, and the present invention is directed to an improved method of forming a rim of polygonal form from a strip of sheet steel or the like. The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved method of forming a sheet metal rim of polygonal form comprising portions adapted to engage and conform to the sides of the container and having flanged portions which are adapted to fit closely the adjacent end wall or head. A further object of the invention is to provide a method of forming a metallic rim of polygonal form having an inwardly extending flange which is transversely corrugated and in which the corrugations are of varying configurationto permit the flange to fit closely against the head or end wall without destroying the true polygonal relationship of the portions of the rim which are adapted to engage the side wall sections of the container. Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method of forming a sheet metal rim of polygonal form from a rim of circular form provided with an inwardly extending annular flange. Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved method 01. forming a metallic rim from a strip of sheet metal or the like by first providing said strip with an inwardly extending transversely corrugated flange, .then arranging said flanged strip in the form of a circular rim and'flnally compressing said rim to impart thereto a polygonal form adapted to conform to the contour of a container, such as a wooden vessel of octagonal cross-section. Other objects relate to various features of the improved rim and to details of the improved method of forming the rim, all of which will appear more fully hereinafter.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the following specification taken with the accompanying drawings, in whichone example of the improved method of the present invention is disclosed in connection with one form of apparatus adapted for use in forming the rim. In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a container embodying the improved rim produced by the method of the present invention, with a portion of the container broken away;

Fig. 2 shows a partial enlarged vertical section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a sheet metal strip adapted for use as a blank from which to form the rim by the method of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the strip illustrated in Fig. 3, after this strip has been operated upon to provide it with a transversely extending and transversely corrugated flange and also with a series of apertures by which the rim in its final form may be attached to the walls of the container;

Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of a circular rim formed by bending into circular form the flanged strip illustrated in Fig. 4 and then uniting the overlappingends of the strip by means of rivets or the like;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the completed polygonal rim of the present invention produced by subjecting the circular rim illustrated in Fig. 5- to compression with the result that the depending portion of the rim is converted into a series of sections having the relationship of a true polygon and in which the inwardly extending flange of the circular rim is converted into a series of inwardly extending flanges having the same polygonal relationship;

Fig. 7 shows an enlarged partial top plan view of the completed rim illustrated in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 shows a vertical section through one form of apparatus which may be used for practicing the method of the present invention;

Fig. 9 shows an enlarged detail section through the apparatus of Fig. 8, the section being taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 10 shows an enlarged section taken on the line Ill-ill of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 11 shows a partial view similar to that of Fig. 10, with the pressure heads of the apparatus 4 in the relative positions which they occupy in the final stage of compression of a metallic rim in the operation of transforming it from the circular form illustrated in Fig. 5 to the polygonal form shown in Fig. 6.

For the purpose of illustrating the use and advantages of the improved method of the present invention, there is illustrated in the drawings, a container l5 which comprises a plurality of vertical side wall sections l6 which are so arranged that the container has an octagonal horizontal cross-section. For this purpose, each side wall section It, which is constructed preferably of wood, is beveled along its opposite upright edges as shown at Ni and the inclination of these beveled surfaces is such that one beveled edge of each wall section may be arranged to flt within the edge of one of the next adjacent wall sections and to contact therewith, as shown in Fig. 1, while the other edge is located on the outer side of the other next adjacent wall section with the beveled edge at that side lying in the same plane as the wall section immediately adjacent thereto. The wall sections thus have a progressive overlapping relationship around the container. At their lower ends, the wall sections l6 have a plurality of separate cleats I'I secured thereto and at their upper ends these wall sections have another series of cleats l8 secured thereto. All of these cleats are located on the inner sides of the wall sections and the end surfaces of the cleats are so beveled that when the wall sections are arranged in polygonal form, as shown in Fig. 1, the ends of adjacent cleats in each series contact closely with each other. A bottom wall l9, of octagonal form, flts within the side wall sections l6 and rests upon the lower cleat H, as shown in Fig.2. All of these walls are held in assembled relationship by surrounding flexible binders 20 which may be in the form of binding wires secured to the several side wall sections by staples 2| and having their ends twisted or otherwise secured together as shown at 22. At the upper and lower ends of the container, the staples 2| serve also to secure the cleats l1 and I8 to the wall sections and, if desections l6 may then be assembled, the ends of the wires 20 twisted together and the bottom wall is put in place, preferably by being inserted before the outer walls are secured in assembled relationship by uniting the ends of the wires, and then the container is ready to be filled. After the container has been filled with the commodity to be shipped therein, the upper end of the container is closed by a cover or top wall 25 which is preferably in the form of a wooden member of octagonal form of the same size as the outer dimensions of the container to which it is applied. This top wall is placed upon the upper ends of the side walls l6 and is then secured in place by means of a metallic rim 2B of octagonal form having a plurality of depending portions 26' adapted to conform to and flt against the outer surfaces of the outer wall sections I6, and also a series of inwardly extending transversely corrugated flange portions 26 which overlie and normally engage the upper surface of the top wall 25. This metallic rim 26 is placed over the cover 25 and then the rim is secured to the outer wall sections of the container by driving nails 21 through apertures formed in the portions 26' of the rim.

The present invention is directed primarily to the method by which the rim 26 is formed from a strip of sheet steel or other sheet metal. In

Fig. 3, there is illustrated a portion of a flat steel strip 30 which may be rolled as a member having the desired width and thickness or formed by cutting a plurality of such strips from a metal sheet of considerable width. Having provided the strip 30 of the desired width and length, it is operated upon by suitable dies and. rolls, preferably by the method described and claimed in the United States patent of Messrs. Fork and Kronquest No. 1,771,955, dated July 29, 1930, thereby producing the structure illustrated in Fig. 4, in which the metal strip has assumed the form of an upright body portion 30 provided with a transverse flange 30' having formed therein a series of transverse corrugations 30. At the same time that thecorrugated flange 30 is formed, the lower edge of the body portion 30 is punched to form a series of apertures 3| which, when the completed rim is applied to a container, are adapted to be engaged by the nails 21 heretofore referred to. After forming the flanged strip illustrated in Fig. 4, the required length of material of this formation is bent into the form of a circular rim 32, as shown in Fig. 5, and the overlapping ends of this rim are secured together by rivets 33 or by other suitable fastening means. During the process of bending this flanged strip into the form of the circular rim 32, the corrugations 30 contract toward their inner extremities, thereby permitting the flange to adjust itself to the circular form shown in Fig. without causing the metal of the flange to bend or buckle or to depart from its position in a plane extending transversely to the annular depending portion 30 of the rim. Having formed the circular flanged rim illustrated in Fig. 5, the next step of the process consists in compressing certain portions 01' the rim and expanding other portions to produce the completed rim 26 of polygonal form which is illustrated in Fig. 6. During this process, the corrugated annular flange 30 assumes the form of a series of connected corrugated flanges 26 having a polygonal relationship, in this instance, the form of an octagon, and the metal of the depending portion 30" of the rim assumes the form of the several connected portions 26' 01' the completed rim, which are united with each other in the form of a polygon of true octagonal shape. As the flanges 26 are caused to occupy the polygonal relationship, the inner ends of the corrugations adjacent the apices of the polygon become still narrower but the inner ends of those corrugations which occupy intermediate positions become wider and these corrugations assume substantially the parallel relationship they had in the straight flanged strip from which the rim was formed.

One form of improved apparatus which may preferably be employed in forming the improved rim according to the method of the present invention is illustrated in Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11, where it is shown as comprising a frame 35 hav-- ing a horizontal table 36 projecting outwardly therefrom and having an upright member 31 which carries a stationary cam spindle 38 arranged to project in a horizontal direction over the table 36. The spindle 38 supports a disk 40 having a hub 40" provided with a bushing ll which is journaled on the spindle so that the disk 40 is capable of being moved bodily inward from the position shown in Fig. 8 toward the upright member 31. The disk 40 carries around its outer edge a series of brackets 42 which form the heads of a series of cylinders 43, one of which is mounted upon each bracket. These cylinders are closed at their outer ends by heads through which connectors establish communication from the interiors of these cylinders to a pipe 45 leading from a source of supply of compressed fluid such as air or steam. The connections to' these cylinders are controlled by a valve 41 so that compressed fluid may be admitted thereto for the purpose of actuating the pistons 48. Other connectors 45 are adapted to establish communication from the source of compressed fluid supply with the inner ends of the cylinders 43 so that the pistons 48 may be retracted after they have been moved inwardly by the admission of compressed fluid through the connectors 45. These pistons-are connected to piston rods 49 which are slidably mounted in the brackets forming the inner heads of the cylinders and these piston rods carry at their inner ends, outside of the cylinders, the T-shaped pressure heads 50 which are adapted to be moved inwardly by the action of the compressed fluid to engage the outer surfaces of the circular hoop 32 when this hoop is placed in the apparatus for the purpose of being transformed into octagonal shape. The ends of the arms of the T-shaped heads 50 are slightly beveled at the corners which engage the circular hoop or rim, as shown at 50 and they are also beveled transversely along their inner edges, as shown at 50 in Fig. 9 so that when these heads are actuated they engage only those portions of the metal rim which lie in proximity to the transverse corrugated flange formed thereon. Upon the admission of compressed fluid to these cylinders 43, all of the pressure heads 50 are actuated simultaneously.

When the circular hoop 32 is placed in the apparatus shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10, it is supported on the inner side of the body portion 30 of the rim by means of a series of inner pressure heads 5| which are mounted on plungers 52 arranged to slide in radial guideways 53 carried by the disk 40. These guideways are undercut so that the plungers 52 are retained in place therein and at their inner ends the plungers are provided with rollers 54 which are maintained in contact with the tapered cam faces 38 of the spindle 38 by coil springs 52 mounted in cylindrical recesses formed in the ends of the plungers and engaging brackets 52 secured to the disk 40. Whenthe disk 40 is moved longitudinally of the spindle 38, the tapered cam faces 38, engaging the rollers 54, cause the plungers 52 to be projected radially outward in their guideways, thus causing the inner pressure heads 5| to move outwardly against the surrounding metal rim and thereby assist in imparting to this rim the final octagonal shape shown in Fig. 6. The pressure heads 5| are triangular in radial cross-section and have opposite angularly disposed faces 5| which are inclined toward each other at an angle corresponding to that between the faces of two adjacent side walls l6 of the container to which the rim is to be applied. The faces 5! of the pressure heads 5| are beveled outwardly away from the axis of the spindle 38 adjacent their rear edges which are disposed in proximity to the plungers 52, as shown at 5| in Fig. 9, so that when the rim is completed by being pressed against and expanded outwardly by the pressure heads 5|, the sections 25 of the completed rim are flared outwardly to a slight extent as shown at 25 in Figs. 6 and 9.

The movement of the disk 40 longitudinally of the cam spindle 38, which brings about the outward radial movement of the inner pressure heads 5|, is effected by means of a pressure plate or disk 55 which is mounted with its axis coincident with the axis of the spindle 3B. The disk 55 is provided with a central recess 55 which is adapted to receive the tapered extremity of the cam spindle 38 when the disk 55 is moved to its extreme position toward the right. as viewed in Fig. 8, during the process of forming the rim. and the disk is carried by a rod 56 formed in two sections which have their inner portions screwthreaded and engaged by a turnbuckle 5'! so that the effective length of the rod may be yaried to compensate for variations in the diameters of the sheet metal hoops being. operated upon by the apparatus. The rod 56 is pivotally connected by a pin 53 with a piston rod 59 by which the plate or disk 55 is actuated. This piston rod is connected to a piston 60 located in a cylinder 6| which is supported on the table 35 by means of an angle bar 62. Compressed fluid, such as compressed air or the like, may be admitted to the inner and outer ends of the cylinder 6| through i the pipes 63 and 64, respectively, which may be controlled by valves in order to move the plate or disk 55 in either direction, as desired. The disk 55 is held against rotation and is supported by a guide rod 65 which is connected to the lower portion of the plate or disk and arranged to slide in bearing blocks 66 carried by the table 36. The lower portion of the plate or disk 55 is provided with a projecting ear 55 engaged by a rod 51 which is held in fixed relation to the disk 55 but which has a sliding engagement with the disk 40 through an aperture 40 formed therein. The inner end of this rod 61 is threaded for engagement by lock nuts 68 which may be adjusted to regulate the normal position of the disk 55 with respect to the disk 40. When the disk or plate 55 is retracted by the admission of compressed fluid to the inner end of the cylinder 6|, the disk 40' is moved outwardly upon the cam spindle 38 by reason of the connection established between the two .disks by the rod 51, and when the disk 55 moves inwardly toward the disk 40, the rod 61 is permitted to slide freely in the aperture 40 to project rearwardly beyond the disk 40. The apparatus described above is claimed in the copending application of Allen B. Wilson, Serial No. 730,456, filed June 13, 1934.

In the operation of the apparatus heretofore described, the circular rim is first placed over the inner pressure heads 5| with the corrugated flange 30 extending in a vertical direction adjacent the front faces of these pressure heads.

Upon admitting compressed fluid to the outer end of the cylinder 6|, the pressure plate or disk 55 is moved inwardly toward the disk 40 until it engages the vertically extending corrugated flange 30 of the rim and then, upon continued movement of the pressure plate 55, the disk 40 and all parts carried thereby are moved bodily along the spindle 38 toward the frame member 31 with the result that the plungers 52 are projected outwardly, thereby causing a corresponding outward radial movement of the pressure heads 5|, thereby expanding the metal of the circular rim 32 and tending to cause it to assume the final octagonal shape shown in Fig. 6. The engagement of the pressure heads 5| of triangular crosssection with the inner surface of the metallic rim may be sufficient to complete the formation of the octagonal shape in those parts of the rim which are removed from the transverse flange 3i! but, owing to the stiffness of the rim in the region of this corrugated flange, it is desirable to bring the outer pressure heads 50 into play for the purpose of flattening out those portions of the metal rim which are located between the apices of the inner pressure heads 5|, it being noted that the inner pressure heads are each mounted to move along a radial line located midway between the radial paths of movement of the two next adjacent outer pressure heads 50. The inward movement of these pressure heads 50 flattens the metal of the rim, adjacent the corrugated flange, radially inward against the faces of the inner pressure heads SI and thus assists the action which is brought about by the outward radial movement of the inner pressure heads. In order to cause the inward movement of the pressure heads 50 to take place automatically after a predetermined movement of the disks 55 and 40, a block is mounted on a bracket ll carried by the plate 31 and this block has an inclined face 10 adapted to engage the valve stem 41 and open the valve 41 so that the heads 50 may be caused to move inwardly in the desired time relation to the outward movement of the heads 5|. Because of the desirability of forming a sharp angle between each two adjacent sections of the octagonal rim, the apices 5| of the inner pressure heads are preferably arranged to project slightly outward beyond thepoint of intersection of planes containing the faces 5 l' of the pressure head and this slight outward projection cooperates with the bevels 50 formed at the ends of the outer pressure heads to cause a slight outward projection of the metallof the octagonal rim at the points of connection of two adjacent sections 26 of the rim. Because of the action of the inner pressure heads in expanding the metal of the rim adjacent the apices 26 of the rim between two adjacent sections thereof, and the action of the outer pres sure heads in flattening out the metal between these apices in the rim, the transversely extending corrugated flange is subjected to forces tending to contract it adjacent the apices 26 and to expand it at points midway between these apices and it has been found that by reason of the corrugation of the transverse flange of the rim, prior to imparting the octagonal or other polygonal shape thereto, the various portions of the transverse flange adjust themselves automatically to these varying forces tending to distort different parts of the flange in different ways and the flange thus maintains its position in a plane extending transversely to the axis of the disks 40 and 55 inasmuch as the corrugations at points midway between the apices of the rim radially expand at their inner extremities, as shown at 26, until the corrugations are substantially parallel, while at points adjacent the apices of the rim these corrugations are contracted more closely upon each other as shown at 26 with their inner extremities lying in closer relation than their outer extremities. This action of the corrugated flange of the rim is assisted by the engagement therewith of the pressure plate 55 and it will be observed that the action of the pressure plate 55, when it projects the corrugated flange against the vertical faces of the inner pressure heads 5|, also serves to project the body portion of the rim upwardly, over the tapered surfaces 5| of the inner pressure heads, thereby imparting to the edge of the rim the flared portion 26 heretofore referred to. Owing to the independent fluid connections which are made with the cylinders 43, the outer pressure heads 50 may be operated to move inwardly simultaneously with the outward movement of the inner pressure heads II or the inward movement of the outer pressure heads may be caused to take place at any other time which is adapted to bring about the best results in the 5 formation of the rim.

Although one form of the improved rim has been shown and described in connection with the explanation of one example of the improved method of forming it and one form of improved 1 apparatus adapted for use in the formation of therim, it will be understood that the invention may be constructed in various ways and may be formed according to various methods coming within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. The method of forming a metal rim of polygonal form for a container, which consists in flrst forming a circular metallic rim having a corrugated inwardly extending flange along one edge thereof, and then flattening portions of said rim to give it a polygonal form.

2. The method of forming a metal rim of polygonal form for a container which consists in first forming a circular metal rim having an annular body portion provided with an inwardly extending transversely corrugated flange, and then flattening portions of said body portion and said flange to cause said portions to assume the form of the sides of a polygon.

3. The method of forming a metal rim of polygonal form for a container which consists in first forming a circular metal rim having an annular body portion provided with an inwardly extending transversely corrugated flange, and then applying pressure radially outward at spaced points on said circular rim to cause said body portion and said flange to assume the form of the sides of a polygon.

4. The method of forming a metal rim of polyg- 4o onal form for a container which consists in first forming a circular metal rim having an annular body portion provided with an inwardly extending transversely corrugated flange, and then applying pressure radially outward at spaced points on said circular rim and applying pressure radially inward on portions of said circular rim between said spaced points to cause said rim to assume the form of a polygon.

5. The method of forming a metal rim of polygonal form for a container which consists in first forming a circular metal rim having an annular body portion provided with an inwardly extending transversely corrugated flange, then flattening portions of said body portion and said flange to cause said portions to assume the form of the sides of a polygon, and pressing said rim endwlse to flare the edge thereof opposite said flange.

6. The method of forming a metal rim of polygonal form for a container, which consists in forming a circular metal rim having an annular body portion provided along one edge with a series of perforations and along the other edge with an inwardly extending transversely corrugated flange, then exerting pressure on said circular rim in a radial direction to flatten portions of said rim and said flange to cause them to assume the form of the sides of a polygon, and exerting endwise pressure on said rim to flare said perforated edge portion thereof.

CHESTER M. MACCHESNEY. ALLEN B. WILSON. 

